*** Official KICK-ASS Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Don Solosan]

"[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Kick-Ass is a black comedy with great action elements. Are you saying that couldn't be done within the tenets of a high school "coming of age" film."

Silly answer: Only if the high school has an industrial-sized microwave...

Serious answer: I'm saying that Dave and Mindy at school could be the background for the story, but it seems to me that it would still have to have them acting as superheroes, and that they would have to fight something more dangerous than bullies stealing milk money (they already ruled that out at the end of this movie). Otherwise they're crossing out of their genre which could piss off an audience that's expecting more superhero and criminal villain stuff.

It's sort of like Die Hard got defined as John McClane trapped in the building, Die Hard 2 is McClane trapped in an airport, and Die Hard With a Vengeance... is that even a Die Hard movie? Okay, that's not the best example, probably because filmmakers don't usually stray that far from their original source. Hmm... what about Valley of the Dolls and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls? Definitely aimed at two different audiences, those are![/COLOR]

 

[JonZ]

About superheros killing, we saw a change during the 80s with things like Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns and especially in alot of the independents what were coming out at the time. Before this in Marvel and DC,heros and villians often died in combat - but not like how Miller showed Batman finishing off with The Joker at the end of book3.

At favorite of mine, before the book went off the deep end was Grendel. Grendel wasnt a superhero really - but I have to admit one of the things that attracted me to the comic, after feeling Marvel had run its course, was the violence and adult nature of the book.

Id give anything to see a Grendel Rose/Spar/Thatcher trilogy.

Ill check this out this week.

 

[lily123]

supernatural just keeps getting better and better with each passing season. This year has added a whole new dynamic to , and even if the season hasn't ended yet, I just know that the finale will be great. The acting and producing and directing and writing are all first rate! It's the best show. on TV that so few people are watching. Can't wait to see more and if you haven't seen any of it, I suggest you watch it.....

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[lily123]

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[Chuck Anstey]

I liked the movie but the movie changed tone in the last act and it reduced my enjoyment. The first two acts were over the top stylized caricatures of "real" people trying to be superheroes and I found it a very enjoyable black comedy. The final act suddenly changed into seriousness of Leon or The Punisher to get the big body count finale where our previously over-the-top superheroes are just normal humans and here are the very real consequences of their actions. Very jarring.

Previously Hit Girl had Big Daddy watching over her and taking care of any bad guys she missed to prevent her from being seriously injured. Also Big Daddy took on the lumber warehouse by himself and seems to imply that there were some situations too dangerous for her. Now Hit Girl is going to take on the mob in their own building without Big Daddy as backup and the one to take on the biggest of bad guys after showing our heroes are very human and can be caught and killed relatively easily?

If the tone is supposed to be the first two acts then the final seems out of place. If the tone is supposed to be the final act then the first two acts come across as false and cartoony. To make the transition as the movie is now I would have preferred that Hit Girl and Big Daddy train Kick Ass a bit on how to really fight and use weapons. Then at least the audience would have been brought along from a point of a normal teen trying to be a vigilante but way out of his league against real criminals to a point where they all were serious vigilantes with the skills to match the criminals.

 

[Patrick Sun]

My other main issue with the script is that is not engrossing enough where your mind doesn't wander through some of the questions that Chuck A mentioned in his post above. Either you play it straight-up, or you leave yourself open to having nits picked. Tone is a big problem with the film as a whole, but in parts, some were enjoyable, some didn't really work, while others were over-the-top, but cohesively, it was scatter-shot in tone. Plus it was tough to watch how naive Dave was in his budding bromance with Red Mist. Again, I understand why people found it enjoyable, I think I might have strained an eye muscle with my eyerolling, though.

 

[JonZ]

"I liked the movie but the movie changed tone in the last act and it reduced my enjoyment. The first two acts were over the top stylized caricatures of "real" people trying to be superheroes and I found it a very enjoyable black comedy. The final act suddenly changed into seriousness of Leon or The Punisher to get the big body count finale where our previously over-the-top superheroes are just normal humans and here are the very real consequences of their actions. Very jarring."

I agree, but there were other moments in the film where this happened as well. I was suprised to see KickAss get stabbed. The movie was playing like a lighthearted spoof and then we see him get stabbed and it actually shocked me a bit. Then we have the laugh of the unexpected car accident - which very quickly turns unfunny when we see Dave in a ambulance being tended to by paramedics. (and a funny next scene "Cool, Im like Wolverine").

"Also Big Daddy took on the lumber warehouse by himself and seems to imply that there were some situations too dangerous for her."

This was my favorite scene in the film. Loved the shot of him running up the stairs with bullets ricocheting along around him. Great.

The film is quite funny in spots.Fav performances were Nic Cage("Hit Girl! Back to Headquarters") and Chloe Morentz. Big Daddy and Hitgirl could have their own franchise. Although I think some of HitGirls swearing seemed forced. I would have liked it if Big Daddy frowned upon her language while encouraging her actions. It prob would have made the character funnier if she was the opposite - she didnt swear and was a very "proper" 11 year old.

I would have preferred less extreme and a bit more grounded action from HitGirl, but its a minor complaint.

I agree the finale is weak, but I enjoyed the movie.

"To make the transition as the movie is now I would have preferred that Hit Girl and Big Daddy train Kick Ass a bit on how to really fight and use weapons."

Maybe we'll get a Dir Cut DVD/Bluray.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I think I read there is about 15-18 minutes of footage that might end up in an extended Director's Cut on DVD/BD.

Here's an article on its opening weekend box office performance (or perceived lack, thereof):

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2010/04/kick-ass-matthew-vaughn-box-office.html

 

[WillG]

I haven't actually seen this myself yet, but I have been hearing, to the surprise of pretty much nobody, that the "outrage" over this movie has officially begun. No surprise again that the majority of it seems to be related to Hit Girl and espcially her use of the "C-Bomb"

I've also been hearing that there were plenly of kids at showing of the movie brought by their parents, followed by the inevatable walkouts when the parents discovered what kind of movie this really was. If this is the case, it never ceases to amaze me how ignorant people can be. First it's a Rated R movie, Second, how hard is it to spend two minutes on the internet to find out what a movie is about and what kind of content is present. And even failing that, how many kid's movie have the word "Ass" right in the title?

 

[TravisR]

Originally Posted by WillG

...how many kid's movie have the word "Ass" right in the title?

According to my ticket, I saw Kick A**. It's pretty sad that people are still so hung up on 'bad' words.

 

[Phil Florian]

I liked the unsubtle social commentary in the film (the commentary some reviewers say wasn't there). Namely that we are a society of "watchers" who let the nastiness go on around us without really getting involved. The fight outside the shop that made it on Youtube was clearly poking at mainstream humanity...Kick Ass yells "call the cops" and instead we get a wall of people with camera phones watching the hijinks. This is later turned on its head when the bad guys...in old-school Joker fashion...decide to use the same tactics to air a video of them torturing and killing super heroes. And in that situation, everyone just watched...even the police. I thought that was kind of riveting part of the filmmaking as it was kind of damning to the audience in a way, as well. I thought it was kind of neat.
That said, there were some dull spots (it was a slow start) but ended in the over the top burn that I quite enjoyed. I particularly liked the "first person shooter" perspective of the rescue attempt. It "out-Doomed" the DOOM movie version of this, I think. It even had the 'reload' animation like all shooters have. Nice.

It was a good spring superhero movie on par with the kind of film WATCHMEN showed us last year...essentially a flawed but in the end entertaining bit of dark superheroics to set up the more traditional super season (IRON MAN 2!).

 

[Chuck Anstey]

Originally Posted by Phil Florian

I liked the unsubtle social commentary in the film (the commentary some reviewers say wasn't there). Namely that we are a society of "watchers" who let the nastiness go on around us without really getting involved. The fight outside the shop that made it on Youtube was clearly poking at mainstream humanity...Kick Ass yells "call the cops" and instead we get a wall of people with camera phones watching the hijinks. This is later turned on its head when the bad guys...in old-school Joker fashion...decide to use the same tactics to air a video of them torturing and killing super heroes. And in that situation, everyone just watched...even the police. I thought that was kind of riveting part of the filmmaking as it was kind of damning to the audience in a way, as well. I thought it was kind of neat.

I particularly liked the "first person shooter" perspective of the rescue attempt. It "out-Doomed" the DOOM movie version of this, I think. It even had the 'reload' animation like all shooters have. Nice.

I totally agree and had the same thoughts and reactions to those scenes.

 

[Don Solosan]

"[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]The one thing I did find ironic was that despite the attempt at being "realistic", in the end it's movie make-believe."

You're not the only one I've heard say this. The thing is, I just don't understand it. I didn't think there was anything realistic about this movie. It's all just a huge fantasy.[/COLOR]

 

[Zack Gibbs]

Originally Posted by Don Solosan

"[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]The one thing I did find ironic was that despite the attempt at being "realistic", in the end it's movie make-believe."

You're not the only one I've heard say this. The thing is, I just don't understand it. I didn't think there was anything realistic about this movie. It's all just a huge fantasy.
[/COLOR]

I think it stems from the comic which touted itself as "this would really happen," but it didn't really succeed there. Unfortunately it suffers for its own pessimism by the end, while the film succeeds with more traditional plays like the protagonist saving the day and getting the girl.

The movie I don't think was ever presented as some hypothetical 'reality', and I don't think the makers thought of it that way.

 

[Tino]

I thought the film was OK and really only came alive when Hit Girl was on the screen. Didn't like the main character and thought it was a bit all over the place in terms of tone which didn't work for me.

But Hit Girl is a great character and Chloe Morentz gave a star making performance which is worth the price of admission. That's the movie I wanna see.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I watched it again today and my enjoyment level increased with a second viewing. I agree that Chloe Morentz had a star making performance. I hope they do a sequel with her in high school. Also, the music selections in the film were very good if not excellent.




Crawdaddy

 

[EricW]

[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]You're not the only one I've heard say this. The thing is, I just don't understand it. I didn't think there was anything realistic about this movie. It's all just a huge fantasy.[/COLOR]

it's a seinfeld reality. it's not that they're any more or less realistic than any other comic book movie, it's just that they're self aware and acknowledge the existence of comic books as a medium in their own reality.

 

[Rhett_Y]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick Sun

BTW, I did track down a copy of the Kiss-Ass in its collection Hardcover edition and read it, and felt bad for John Romita Jr. (the penciller) for having to depict the insane violence he was asked to do in the comic series. Perhaps he likes drawing that kind of stuff since he doesn't get to do it in his normal Marvel artwork/stories, but it felt like he was slumming for a payday with the work he was asked to turn in. So now I see the similarities and differences between the comics series and the film, and the changes did create a disconnect with how scenes never quite gelled or built on one another well throughout its running time.

How did you like the Comic Book/Graphic Novel?

 

[Patrick Sun]

The ending is more downbeat and less fantastical (though the violence that Hit Girl perpetrates is still pretty ludicrous give her age/size), but has a couple of emotional beats that the film version skips over which might have humanized Mindy more. And it does set itself up for future chapters. Plus the Red Mist's physical qualities visually are not quite a joke when it comes to looking the part, unlike McLovin's contribution in the film. All in all, it's still a standard Mark Millar comic-writing project written for 12-year boys, with some ultra-violence and language thrown in for shock value.

 

[SilverWook]

I haven't seen this yet, but I noticed my local multiplex seemed to be a little uncomfortable with the title. It read "Kick A" on the marquee, and the mylar signs on the auditoriums playing the film seemed to have black tape covering last two letters in "Ass". I didn't see the poster anywhere either, but it's possible it was on the other side of the building from where I was.

Are any other theaters doing this?